Torphalos

Architecture

Torphalos is completely surrounded by a gargantuan wall of elementally enhanced stone known as the Shield Wall. The Shield Wall is roughly oval in shape and is broken up into dozens of sections by constructed streams of water. These streams run across the top of the wall and create waterfalls into to the Outer Moat. The Outer Moat completely surrounds the Shield Wall and water from the outer moat drains off into the Great River.

To create the streams on the Shield Wall there is an Inner Moat which sits at the back of the Shield Wall, slightly higher than the top of the wall. This inner moat is supplied by aqueducts that run in elevated channels above the city, spreading out like a series of spokes from the High Lake. These aqueducts also provide all the water for the Torphalos. The High Lake sits about half way up the Sacred Mountain, which is roughly the centre point of the city.

Atop the Sacred Mountain are the four elemental temples. They sit on the mountain plateau and between them all is the Elemental Nexus which produces the water for the aqueducts and moats. The Elemental Nexus is also connected to the Shield Wall through the ground and it produces an elemental wind that drifts above the city.

The bulk of the city itself is located on the flat ground between the Shield Wall and the Sacred Mountain. There are trading hubs strategically positioned around the city so that it convenient for everyone to get to stores without much travel. The polluting industries are located to the south close to the wall, where it is easiest to dispose of the waste into the Great River.